Bobanango Valley. It was definitely a long and winding road to get to our cute little cottage in the middle of the Zulu battlefields during the Zulu-Anglo war. It was the first time I put on my seatbelt while riding the bus.
When we arrived here, Friday evening and off loaded our luggage, Kay, Kori, Melanie, Kathy, and I were assigned the cottage. A cute little white washed, 3 bedroom, 2 bath cottage, just on the other side of the lodge. We had just enough time to choose bedrooms and get out some warm clothes before I walked with Kathy, Amy, Debra, and Jason to the Bush Camp, where we were going to have dinner. It was incredibly cold and the employees had already started a small bonfire, which I kept going through dinner, the cauliflower butternut soup was awesome. By the way this dinner in the bush, came with table clothes, linen napkins, waiters, and a paid bar…not exactly roughing it but VERY cold. I think this is the only stay in which I will get sunburn and frost bite in the same day.
The next morning, after a frigid breakfast, we headed out to the Zulu battlefield of Islandlwana and Rorke’s Drift. Our guide, Dr. John Turner, owner of the lodge and a self taught historian, was fabulous. He knew details down to the hours of the day that events occurred, names, personalities, etc. Not to mention that he was an enthralling story teller. He showed us the British and Zulu movements through this battle, the first in the war. It all took place under a Sphinx shaped hill, Islandlwana. The British loss here was devastating. The area is strewn with pyramids of white washed stones, marking the places of the dead British soldiers. There was also a monument to the fallen Zulus, a Zulu necklace.
The tour was long and very detailed. While Dr. Turner was an excellent story teller, I was exhausted by the time we got back to our cottage and took a shower as soon as we got in. What had started as a very cool morning, got heated on the battlefield and as soon as the sun set the chill returned. I felt like I was stripping and putting on clothes nearly all day.
By the time we got down to dinner, I had reorganized my layers sufficiently to be more comfortable at dinner.
When we returned home, Jacob came to sleep on our living room couch because the Bush Camp tents – while luxurious – were also very cold. I was repacking for the following morning and picked my robe up from the bed to find it was warm. When I said something to Kori, she thought I was crazy, but then I pulled back the covers to get in bed and there was an old fashioned hot water bottle in an old fashioned cozy, which is now down at my feet, making me very happy and cozy. As Lance can tell you, my feet are rarely if ever warm!
I didn’t enjoy the battle field tour as much as I would have if I had taken notes, because although Dr. Turner was an excellent story, but of the awesome details will be lost in my faulty memory.
When we arrived here, Friday evening and off loaded our luggage, Kay, Kori, Melanie, Kathy, and I were assigned the cottage. A cute little white washed, 3 bedroom, 2 bath cottage, just on the other side of the lodge. We had just enough time to choose bedrooms and get out some warm clothes before I walked with Kathy, Amy, Debra, and Jason to the Bush Camp, where we were going to have dinner. It was incredibly cold and the employees had already started a small bonfire, which I kept going through dinner, the cauliflower butternut soup was awesome. By the way this dinner in the bush, came with table clothes, linen napkins, waiters, and a paid bar…not exactly roughing it but VERY cold. I think this is the only stay in which I will get sunburn and frost bite in the same day.
The next morning, after a frigid breakfast, we headed out to the Zulu battlefield of Islandlwana and Rorke’s Drift. Our guide, Dr. John Turner, owner of the lodge and a self taught historian, was fabulous. He knew details down to the hours of the day that events occurred, names, personalities, etc. Not to mention that he was an enthralling story teller. He showed us the British and Zulu movements through this battle, the first in the war. It all took place under a Sphinx shaped hill, Islandlwana. The British loss here was devastating. The area is strewn with pyramids of white washed stones, marking the places of the dead British soldiers. There was also a monument to the fallen Zulus, a Zulu necklace.
The tour was long and very detailed. While Dr. Turner was an excellent story teller, I was exhausted by the time we got back to our cottage and took a shower as soon as we got in. What had started as a very cool morning, got heated on the battlefield and as soon as the sun set the chill returned. I felt like I was stripping and putting on clothes nearly all day.
By the time we got down to dinner, I had reorganized my layers sufficiently to be more comfortable at dinner.
When we returned home, Jacob came to sleep on our living room couch because the Bush Camp tents – while luxurious – were also very cold. I was repacking for the following morning and picked my robe up from the bed to find it was warm. When I said something to Kori, she thought I was crazy, but then I pulled back the covers to get in bed and there was an old fashioned hot water bottle in an old fashioned cozy, which is now down at my feet, making me very happy and cozy. As Lance can tell you, my feet are rarely if ever warm!
I didn’t enjoy the battle field tour as much as I would have if I had taken notes, because although Dr. Turner was an excellent story, but of the awesome details will be lost in my faulty memory.
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